On Friday, police and relatives identified five of the victims as: 2- and 7-year-old Kylie and Charmela Francis, and their 37-year-old mother Karen Francis; 19-year-old Shantay Young; and 58-year-old Maria Batiz.

Witnesses and survivors describe the frantic minutes after a fire broke out in the Bronx. Lori Bordonaro reports.

(Published Friday, Dec. 29, 2017)

The shocked brother of Maria Batiz also identified her as another one of the fatalities.

"I didn't believe it," said Fernando Batiz. "I had to come down here and see for myself."

A baby girl seen in a photo next to a smiling Batiz is also among the dead, Fernando said. He didn't identify the baby by name, but the Daily News reports she was Batiz's granddaughter, and that the two were found dead in a bathtub where the older woman had desperately tried to shield them.

Five of the other victims were pronounced dead at the scene: a 7-month-old baby girl, a 63-year-old woman and three adult men, according to police.

Meanwhile, four people remain in critical condition, fighting for their lives, after the fire, according to Mayor de Blasio. A dozen others were rescued from the fire with varying injuries but were expected to survive.

A 28-year-old soldier who'd been missing since the fire, Emmanuel Mensah, was among the victim's whose names were released Saturday. He had been desperately sought by family and friends and was last seen heading back into the flames to help save others.